Hi everyone, my spouse and I (early 30s) are heading to Japan for the 2nd time from May 11-23. Here is our plan – it is wide ranging, takes us from Tokyo to fukuoka. Would love to hear your thoughts on doableness, additional recommendations or anything we need to keep in mind for the trip! We want food to be one of the big highlights of the trip
– May 11: Arrival in Tokyo at night; staying in Ginza.
– May 12: Filler day – we want to do some shopping at Uniqlo/Muji, maybe check out a baseball game in the evening? There’s a swallows game at the Meiji jingu stadium that day. Would you recommend it even if we are not particularly into baseball?
– May 13: Anniversary! Journey from Tokyo to Tateshina Shinyu Onsen; overnight at Tateshina Shinyu. We have booked a room with a private onsen. This is near nagano.
– May 14: From Tateshina Shinyu to Matsumoto, night at Dormy Inn Matsumoto. Reach around midday, spend the rest of the day exploring the city – maybe the museum and castle.
– May 15: A day trip to Kamikochi; return to Matsumoto for the night.
– May 16: Travel from Matsumoto to Kanazawa, via the Alpine route – overnight at Kanazawa. I’m most worried about this leg as it sounds hectic. If we don’t do the alpine route, is there another way to get to Kanazawa from Matsumoto? Via another “day trip” like kamikochi? Perhaps Shirakawa Go or Kurobe gorge?
– May 17: Explore Kanazawa, overnight at Kanazawa. Check out the market, castle, food!
– May 18: Leave in the morning, take the Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Kyoto. Walk around gion in the evening, rest.
– May 19: Visiting Arashiyama. We know a good guide from our last trip, we are engaging him. Is there enough to do for a whole day? Would you recommend the boat cruise and the romantic train?
– May 20: Visiting Nishiki Market, Golden temple. Open to doing some non-shrine activities in the evening. Maybe Kyoto Beer Lab
– May 21: Shinkansen from Kyoto to Fukuoka via Hiroshima. Stop for a few hours in Hiroshima to check out the peace museum. overnight in Fukuoka.
– May 22: Explore fukuoka. We added this to the trip because we are huge fans of tonkotsu ramen. What’s a MUST TRY RAMEN here? We also wanted to check out the night food stalls.
– May 23: Fukuoka to home
by Suitable_League1545